As Serbia opened a set of EU accession negotiation chapters on the green agenda and sustainable connectivity on Tuesday 14 December (see EUROPE 12853/10), the European Parliament on Thursday 16 December called on the Serbian authorities and the EU to address the legitimate concerns expressed in environmental protests in Serbia and to tackle these issues urgently during the negotiations.
In its resolution, adopted by 586 votes to 53 with 44 abstentions, Parliament condemns the violent behaviour of militias towards peaceful environmental demonstrators and strongly condemns any violation of the fundamental right of peaceful assembly.
Parliament also calls on the Serbian authorities to carefully investigate allegations of forced labour, human rights abuses and human trafficking involving around 500 Vietnamese workers at the Linglong Tire Chinese tyre factory in Serbia.
The authorities must also ensure that human rights are respected in the factory, in particular labour rights, and better harmonise its labour laws with those of the EU, says Parliament.
See the resolution: https://bit.ly/3pYpyPW (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)